Carolina, age 2

For my own fun (maybe yours?), here's an update to what Carolina is all about at age 2 - 

Eats: She is still my good little eater, and my healthy eater too. Although lately she hasn't had much appetite due to teething, for the most part she's a member of the clean plate club every time. She prefers "real" food to sweets as well - she likes sweets and asks for them, but after a couple of bites she's done. Oh to be like Carolina. Her favorite things are: all fruits, broccoli, cheese, scrambled eggs, beans and rice, spaghetti (any pasta dish really), and oatmeal. She loves milk, but knows when she needs water instead. We've never given her pop, other than a couple of sips, and she doesn't do much juice either. She eats breakfast at about 8, lunch between 11:30-12:30, a snack after her nap, and dinner between 5-6.

Sleeps: Like a champ! She'll sleep a solid 12 hours typically - 7:30-7:30 during the week, and we let her stay up later on the weekend. If she stays up late a few nights in a row she'll sleep in to 8 or 8:30. Now that she's 2 I've let her have a flat pillow in her bed - but her musts are two pacis, bunny, bear, and eagle. She loves to brush her teeth before bed, it's the only way I can get her to stop playing and go get jammies on sometimes. She says, "toothpaste and brush?." It's a simple bedtime routine - diaper, jammies, brush teeth, say a prayer and go to bed - quick and easy, and fuss-free. She doesn't usually fall asleep right away, but she's happy to lay in there and chit chat until she does. As far as transitioning from crib to bed, my plan is to just put it off as long as possible, I'm crossing my fingers for another year at least.

Wears: She can still wear most of her 18 month clothes - although pants are highwaters now (she grew 7 inches in the last year according to our wall markings!). 24 months/2T are the bulk of what she's wearing, but I've found that some 3T tops fit her well too. Her feet are a size 5, and she just got a bulk of new shoes and boots for her birthday so I'm hoping they stay that way for a while! We still wear the same clothes - Carter's, Target (Cherokee brand is just blowing it out of the water in the toddler girls department), some Old Navy, a very little Gap. We almost exclusively buy her shoes at Target, they have such a great selection. I recently went through the 12 (12!) bins of Liam's old clothes in the garage, looking for snowsuits and boots to see if they would fit Lina, and found a couple of great items she can wear! A few hats and jackets, some jammies, even a flannel shirt that will make an adorable baby-grunge outfit.

Behaves: Hmm. this one is tricky. It's like she can't make up her mind about how she wants to behave, or like she's a teenager. Up down, up down. The week before her birthday week she was a mess - just screaming, fits, naughtiness - which led to lots of time outs. Her birthday week she was sweetness and light, so snuggly and lovey and good. This week she spent a couple of days back on the fuss train, and off again. Who knows - maybe it's teeth, maybe  it's toddlerhood, maybe it's just Carolina. What I do know is, when she is happy and in a good mood - there is not a child that is cuter or more fun. Oh, and I need to mention how dang smart she is. She speaks in complete sentences pretty much, can communicate anything to you, the amount of expression she puts into her communication is hysterical, and her vocabulary is pretty impressive for a 24 month old... I think, anyway ;)

Loves: There are many! She loves to dance, sing, hop (the cutest thing), be outside, swim, play in the dirt/garden, color, read, steal her brother's toys, snuggle watching cartoons, take stroller rides, go to church/soccer/grandparent's house/the store,  play with Ripley and her brother, go to Liam's "soccer pwac-wis" (his games), play Tea Party, climb up Poppa, build towers, and lately walking on her tippy-toes is the mostest.

Hates: Not much of anything...time-outs, shots, the usual suspects. 

Everything Else: Let's see... Teeth! With the two new teeth she just got this week, that puts the total at 12 - 6 on top, 6 on bottom. She is definitely behind in the teething area - but the dentist isn't worried, nor the doctor, so neither am I. I only would like to have teething done and over with, for sure! 
Potty training! This is going nowhere - it seemed like she was ready to get started, had a few great moments on the potty... and then nothing. She's silent about her business, so you can't catch her at it and get her to the pot in time. 
Size! We haven't made her two-year well child check-up yet, but she's 34 inches tall by my measurements, which puts right about at the 50%ile for height-for-age, which I should've guessed by the clothes sizes, but she seems taller to me. She's a little under average for her weight, but trust me - she's healthy!

That's about all I can think of - the truth is, other than when she's in a snit, she's the most enchanting little thing I've ever known. We all just can't get enough of her... well, sometimes we can, but seriously, mostly we just adore her to pieces and are marveled every day at how big our baby girl is getting. We are so thankful for her!